Nuance Dragon Mobile Assistant gets voiceprint unlocking

Voice recognition expert Nuance has just announced an update that puts its Dragon Mobile Assistant ahead of the crowd. Its voice-controlled personal mobile assistant can now unlock your smartphone through your voice and only your voice.

At one point or another, biometrics has become a trend and as the number of sensors on our smartphones grow, it is likely to grow along with it. One type of sensor has always been there from the beginning but is also not that easy to utilize. Voice recognition is one thing, but voice biometrics is quite a different thing. While current mobile assistants do have the ability to wake up a device based on voice command, none are able to differentiate its proper owner from other people who might want to get access to your device.

This is where Nuance’s expertise comes in. It might not be as popular as Google Now on mobile, but Nuance has had a head start in the voice department with Dragon NaturallySpeaking for PCs. The company has now added voiceprint recognition to its Android app, allowing owners to set up a wake up phrase and give the app samples of its voice. Dragon Mobile Assistant will then be able to unlock the device only when it hears the correct voice. The video below demonstrates that capability as well as other new features in this update.

Dragon Mobile Assistant finally supports landscape mode, which might be crucial as some car docks hold that phone in that orientation. Nuance Dragon Mobile Assistant is available for free on Google Play Store but is unfortunately limited to the US and the English language only.